"The Web" is a fun effect by Jim Pace that has rightly been dubbed "The world's scariest card trick".

Effect

I don't want to spoil the surprise for you if you haven't seen this before. So to get an idea of how it works, watch the following video clip featuring Lance Burton performing this trick to Craig Ferguson on The Late Late Show.

The trick itself just consists of a four cards and a gimmick, but it can generate quite a reaction of shock/horror.

Impressions

I'd recommend that you first check whether your spectator (aka `victim') has a phobia of spiders, in which case I'd suggest picking another subject. It can provoke quite a reaction, and you don't want to freak someone out unreasonably. But when done with the right person, it can be very fun for everyone concerned.

Preparing and loading the gimmick requires a little trickery, and you have to watch your spectator angles, but it's fairly easy to learn, and the moves required are not very difficult - just a bit of misdirection at the right moment, a simple flustration count, and you are ready to go. There's some "magic" that happens along the way, but it's really all about the moment of the fun reveal at the end.

Recommendation

The Web is a very fun trick! Although it requires a bit of preparation and you have to pick your `target' carefully, the pay-off can be well worth while, and create an experience that is simultaneously freaky, magical, and memorable!

Want to learn more? Check out more reviews and information over at PenguinMagic here.

I agree that this is a great trick. I've had this for many years and had alot of fun doing it in the past.

I never did this trick for strangers, only for people that I know quite well. For such a simple trick this can be quite an intense experience for your unwitting participant so as advised by EndersGame, choose carefully.